A commotion ran through the Highbeards. They had never imagined Bluemoon would have such a high evaluation of Qianye. Considering the norm in the neutral lands, where the burlier were almost always stronger, Qianye was nothing more than a lanky pretty boy. He simply didn’t look like a powerful expert.

But the Highbeards accepted this since Bluemoon had already decided on this matter. Besides, there were simply too many inconceivable aspects surrounding Qianye.

The work on Martyr’s Palace progressed in an orderly fashion. The Highbeards were all master machinists—their tools were installed on their arms or other parts of their body, and their mobile kinetic furnaces allowed them to work around the clock without tire.

It was already night when Qianye entered Southern Blue once more. It had been half a day since he left the Martyr’s Palace, but he still couldn’t sense any change in the energy left behind by the Pointer Monarch.

Qianye smiled briefly, for Bluemoon had passed yet another of his tests. Not everyone could withstand such a temptation. In the face of sufficient allure, many would fail to control themselves even if they knew there was a trap.

Not even Qianye knew what exactly this energy was. All he knew was that it would instantly kill Bluemoon and all the crew on board if she were to touch it. It would be rather sad if that were to happen because Bluemoon had served a fairly important role during this period.

But now, Bluemoon had gained Qianye’s trust, albeit not completely.

Southern Blue was just as somber as before. The impact from the disbandment of a major mercenary corps wasn’t that easy to wipe away. The city guard had also sustained grave losses in the battle—all kinds of compensation and recruitment were going on both openly and in secret. Qianye’s previous meeting with the city lord wasn’t a secret, either, which meant that even Ji Rui had no choice but to endure the outcome of this skirmish.

Most of the people in the neutral lands were pragmatic and profit-oriented. Since they had already lost, it was time to heal their wounds in silence. There might be enmity, but that was something they kept in the bottom of their hearts—something that would erupt volcanically when the opportunity for revenge arose.

Compared to the last time, some of the armament stores in the city had regained some of their vigor. On one hand, Qianye’s order had given them a renewed opportunity for profit, while on the other, Ji Rui had started buying trucks and construction machinery for a new lumber mill. This was a major business deal that none of the stores would want to miss out on. Hence, they began recruiting more helpers and resources to expand their shops.

Qianye strolled right into Southern Blue and arrived before the city lord’s manor. There, he said to one of the guards, “I’m Qianye, seeking an audience with the City Lord.”

The guard naturally recognized Qianye and ran in to deliver the message without delay. Ji Rui appeared personally with a face full of smiles. Grabbing Qianye’s hand like they were old friends, he said, “Oh my, General, how come you’re back so soon? I would’ve prepared a proper welcome had you informed me sooner.”

Qianye smiled. “I was planning to come two days later at first, but I decided that it was better to get things done quickly. Some words are the same whether spoken sooner or later.”

The fat on Ji Rui’s face trembled slightly, but he managed to keep his emotions well-concealed and his smile, constant. “Whatever it is you want to tell me, you can come to me anytime. Come, let’s go inside! These guards are really so thoughtless, how could they make you wait outside?”

Ji Rui led Qianye into the study and ordered his men to prepare the best of tea and snacks. After everything was ready, he gestured for the staff to leave the room. “General, what business do you have with me? Were the goods satisfactory?”

“The goods were not bad, and their quality is also quite good. City Lord is quite attentive.”

“That’s great, that’s great.” Ji Rui heaved a sigh of relief.

Qianye took a sip of tea. “I came this time to trouble the City Lord with a couple of things. I wish to purchase some new goods, and this is the list. Please take a look.”

Ji Rui looked over the list in great detail. Then he exhaled deeply, saying, “General, are you building a fleet?”

Qianye laughed. “I don’t have such great ambitions.”

Ji Rui put down the list and said, “I can get you most of the things on the list, but some of them are not in stock at the moment. We need to buy them from Evernight or the empire, for that, we’ll need some time. But I don’t understand, why aren’t there any weapons on the list?”

Qianye replied, “My requirements for weapons are higher. Do you have a way to get your hands on an imperial or vampire ballista?”

Ji Rui was stunned. “This will be a bit difficult. Ballistae are difficult to produce, and the raw materials are rare; their yearly production rate is fairly limited. They’re always in high demand both in the empire and Evernight, so why would they export it? We’ll only get a couple of second-hand ones even if we make a high offer and utilize my past connections.”

Qianye understood this situation. “Two it is then, let’s buy what we can first. Get as much ammunition as you can.”

“This… I’ll try my best.” Ji Rui laughed wryly.

Qianye gazed at him with a spurious smile. “There’s something else I forgot to mention. About those people from the empire, you don’t need to wait for them anymore. They won’t be coming back.”

The teacup in Ji Rui’s hand fell to the floor and shattered.

But he was quite the shrewd fellow—he quickly regained his calm and composure. “General Qianye, you jest.”

Qianye laughed. “You can wait if you don’t believe me.”

Ji Rui said, “That’s not what I meant. I’m just saying that we don’t share a deep enough relationship for me to wait for them.”

“Oh, is that so? But the City Lord’s reaction just now was fairly odd.”

Ji Rui leaned over to pick up the porcelain shards. He said after thoroughly cleaning up the mess, “To be honest, those people were the main purchasers of timber from the Black Grove. The reason why I’m investing so much for the lumber mill is also because of their order. This is my greatest source of income, so it’s normal that I’ll be distracted after hearing this news. May I ask where you received this information from?”

“Simple, they prepared three warships in the void to ambush me and rob the goods. In the end, I sunk all of them.”

Beads of sweat appeared on Ji Rui’s nose. He understood what three imperial warships meant as well as the power of Lu Saobei’s group. Yet, they were so easily annihilated by Qianye?

“This… are there no survivors?”

“None.”

Ji Rui felt relieved.

Qianye asked again, “Where are the rest of their forces?”

“General, what are you…”

“Extermination.”

Ji Rui’s expression was unsightly and helpless. “This… it’s not too appropriate, is it? Since the greatest evil has been dispatched, the only ones remaining are insects following orders. It makes no difference to the bigger picture whether you kill them or not, so why go to the trouble?”

Qianye didn’t reply. “You mean…”

Ji Rui contemplated momentarily. “I want to go on with this logging business, and they’re my main customers. Besides, I haven’t figured out what they’re doing with the wood from the Black Grove.”

Qianye nodded. “How significant is this deal to you?”

“It’s the biggest contract I’ve had in years, something that can change the power balance in this region.”

Qianye laughed. “Does that mean the City Lord has a divine champion backing him?”

Ji Rui’s expression became awkward. “This… not at the moment. But with these resources, it’s not impossible to hire one.”

“Fine, I’ll let those people off then. But I want details on their names, ranks, and their objective here.”

“It’s… feasible. Just wait a couple of days.”

Nodding, Qianye concluded the details of their transaction and left. A gloomy Ji Rui returned to his study afterward. The terrified expression from just now was gone, replaced by a long, meditative silence.

...

At this point, the war on the void continent had reached a stalemate, with the Zhao clan maintaining an air-tight defensive region around the city of Indomitable.

The Zhao clan’s reaction following Qianye’s betrayal was fierce, and their methods were unexpectedly harsh. They moved both publicly and in secret, dismissing several officials in the imperial court for various reasons. These people weren't highly ranked, but their positions were vital, and they were core characters of the imperial faction. Everyone below the Minister of the Right felt an obvious disruption in operations after the loss of these posts.

Additionally, the Zhao clan presented solid proof via certain court officials, resulting in one of the removed officials being imprisoned for subsequent trial and execution. The Minister of the Right did his utmost to rescue this asset but to no avail. This outcome surprised quite a lot of people.

Apart from that, numerous accidents occurred all around the empire—cars running off cliffs, airships falling apart mid-air, etc. These things happened in remote areas and seemed completely unrelated, but those with keen eyes noticed that the victims were also people from the imperial faction. Their positions were, again, not very high, but they held a fair bit of authority and were expected to progress in the future.

The major players in the imperial court realized that the Zhao clan was a ruler of two remote provinces and a powerful army. This kind of clan would surely have deep foundations and an unknown number of hidden assets. Killing several key members of the imperial faction served as an example, warning people about what they were capable of if they were to go all out.

The people from the Minister of the Right’s lineage were livid, but they had no way to handle this matter except for ranting in court. After some contemplation, it seemed like there was no hope of victory short of waging war on the Zhao clan.

This filled the imperial faction members with embarrassment and anger. Many began manipulating the imperial military to have them openly suppress the Zhao clan. Such a mad course of action naturally had no good outcome, but the imperial faction had to let the Zhao clan know the degree of their determination.

The imperial family remained unexpectedly silent in the midst of all this conflict, almost as though nothing had happened. This was especially strange considering how the Zhao clan had nearly crossed the tacitly-accepted bottom line. The Longevity Monarch, the highest authority in the Imperial Military, remained in isolated cultivation. Weirdly enough, it seemed like he was completely uninterested in this matter.